Mind Sieve 09/22/23

News/Musings	StoryOrigin Swap 1
Mini Movie/Show Reviews	StoryOrigin Swap 2
Movie/TV Show Previews	Just for Fun!
Great Detectives From All Over! Group Promo	Awesome Audiobooks Group Promo

Greetings!

I hope you have been doing great! We got some rain a day or two ago (What? Water can fall from the sky?!). The thunder lasted longer than the bit of rain we got, but we were thrilled, nonetheless. Luckily, unlike a friend of mine, our dogs aren’t much bothered by thunder. (Thank goodness!) On her end, she had to sit with her large pup in a closet to keep him calm. The thunder lasted until around 1 AM. Eek!

Are your pets bothered by thunder and lightning?

News/Musings

Not much going on life-wise, which is a nice change from the usual chaos. 😁 I live under a rock, so not much happens over here. 😎

I will say that marketing is not one of my favorite things. There aren’t enough hours in a day and way too many things you could do, and none with guaranteed effects. The fact that I am a big introvert doesn’t help. The last two big things I’ve tried for marketing got results for a short while then stopped working for no discernible reason. It’s a total crap shoot! 🎲🎲 Hats off to those who can make it work and not go insane! 😁

Writing news

The rough First Draft of The Music of Death Blues is complete! Woot! I included a pic of “The End” below. (Yep, probably has typos and/or grammar issues. Those things get shunted to the side for later passes.) 😋

Book 3 Daiyu Wu Mysteries

Now all sorts of work goes into the queue for everything that needs to happen before publication. First will be getting my name into an available slot with my editor! (Then get my extra passes done on the manuscript before I need to send it to her!). I’ll also need to put in the order for the cover, create the blurb, and see if I can do a new short story.

I’ve now also started on Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero.

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

3) Great Detectives From All Over! Group Promo

4) Awesome Audiobooks Group Promo

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

Murder At The Chocolatier

As secrets melt like molten chocolate, a determined detective must navigate a web of intrigue to uncover the bitter truth.

The life of innkeeper and vineyard owner, Avery Parker, is suddenly interrupted as she discovers two of her dear friends are suspected in the small-town chocolatier’s sudden death.

Partnered up with her devoted golden retriever, Sprinkles, Avery dons her amateur detective hat and uses her keen observation to solve the case by uncovering truths about the most unexpected suspects.

But the clues aren’t adding up, and Avery is forced to question those closest to her in unimaginable ways.

As time runs out, she must not only clear her friends’ names but also avoid a killer who just may attack her next.

Join Avery on a delectable journey through the charming small town of Los Robles, where she unravels a tantalizing blend of small-town charm, clean romance, and culinary cozy mystery in “Murder at the Chocolatier.”

Wine pairings and irresistible recipes included!

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

Equalizer 3

I super enjoyed the direction they took for this one. Why Robert is in Europe and how things came down as we see the aftermath of his first foray are things fed to us in bits as time passes, while also focusing on the current problem Robert is facing. Gorgeous vistas, quaint locals, great fighting scenes, and several subplots made for a very enjoyable and surprising film. Some definitely graphic violence, so be warned.

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price To See Again!

A Haunting in Venice

Superb cast, awesome locales and cinematography, but sadly also a somewhat unsatisfying and not well-constructed story. 😥 I’ll try not to give too much away, but you may want to stop reading if you want no spoilers! The first issue is their use of the same trick as the last film with spiked drinks. That never should have been used on back-to-back films. The second is the complete lack of an explanation on why Poirot was no longer taking clients. (There was no mention of the relationship at the end of Death on the Nile, either.) The third, which is less obvious, are the reasons given behind Miss Oliver and her cohorts’ setup of Poirot. The medium’s motive was clear enough—cash and fame. Miss Oliver’s was very thin and odd, especially since this was the first time viewers had heard of her or her supposed influence over Poirot’s career and the fact they were friends. But the one that made no sense whatsoever was the bodyguard. He had absolutely nothing to gain by besmirching Poirot’s reputation. If anything, wanting Poirot to actually do his thing would be more believable than what we got.

Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

The Boy and the Dragon

A night of demons and dragons…

A short prequel to an Epic Progression Fantasy series

Hidekazu, a keen boy of eight, wants nothing more than to meet a dragon face-to-face.

Although the sacred serpents of the Goddess aren’t quite the same, following one into the deep woods doesn’t end up with the adventure he planned… in fact, it could change the direction of his life forever.

And not for the better.

The Boy and the Dragon is a prequel short story, taking place about 8 years before the beginning of the Yokai Calling series. Jump into the world of Yumihari today and venture into a land filled with elemental magic, myths, monsters, and mayhem!

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

The Fall of the House of Usher Trailer – several peeps I like in this one. Sweet! Does look rather gruesome though.

Rebel Moon Trailer– science fiction for the win! Woot!

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Trailer – woohoo!

Just for Fun!

A blast from the past! The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers – No Guts No Glory – I always liked this song.

More nostalgia! (Blame hubby for these!) – Evolution of Star Trek Series Music Theme (1966-2020) | VioDance

Jerusalema ( Dance Challenge ) – this was a lot of fun to watch. Not sure what got an Australian Plane company to want to do this, but it’s awesome! Lol.